Hamlet’s Struggles
An Analysis of Hamlet’s Three Main Struggles in the Play Hamlet Everyone will go through struggles at some point in their lives, it is a part of life. If it wasn’t for tough times or struggles, people could possibly be very much different than they are today. Struggles change people, some for the better, and some for the worse. In my opinion, struggles in life are essential for people so that they can grow and become better people. Whenever people scuffle through hard times, and make it out, there is a confidence boost for the individual. Once anybody makes it through a struggle, that person will immediately be much more different than they were previously. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the main character,
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However, Hamlet didn’t deal with only one problem or struggles. Hamlet had to deal with multiple struggles throughout the play. All of which, contributing in some way to his downfall. In the play Hamlet, Hamlet goes through multiple struggles: dealing with the death of his father, his mother marrying Claudius, and he lost his girl Ophelia. Initially, Hamlet’s first struggle in the play Hamlet, is that Hamlet is coping with the loss of his father. In the beginning of the play, the audience is told that Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, died from being bitten by a snake in his garden. As far as the audience knows, King Hamlet was a well-respected and highly-regarded king. And thus, the country mourned the death of their king. King Hamlet’s son, Hamlet, was especially sad of his father's tragic passing. In the beginning of the play, the audience is told that Hamlet is seen as wearing all black clothing, signifying that he is mourning a death of a loved one. In the first scene of act I, two sentinels, or bodyguards, see what they believe is a ghost. What is even creepier is that they claim to have seen King Hamlet’s ghost wandering the battlements. Freaked out, the two sentinels tell Hamlet’s close friend Horatio of the news. Back in Shakespearean times, whenever
For example, Ophelia is conflicted because she is unsure of what to make of her relationship with Hamlet. Also, her father, Polonius, tells her to end whatever it is she has with Hamlet. Ophelia is very dependent on men to tell her how to behave, and this does not help her present complicated situation with Hamlet. Ophelia starts to think that Hamlet is crazy after he starts to order her to a nunnery. Then Hamlet accidently kills Polonius and Ophelia is stricken with grief. She goes crazy and drowns herself. In the unfortunate events leading up to her death, she never actually solves anything with Hamlet. Shakespeare demonstrates once again that avoiding conflict will not benefit anyone in the end, and it might just kill
Hamlet's tale is a tragic one because it presents a man who is in the center of a moral dilemma. It is difficult enough for a man to face what is making him angry even under normal circumstances. Hamlet's circumstances are certainly not normal.
Originally titled The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, this tragedy has been reproduced more times than any other play written by William Shakespeare (en.wikipedia.org 1 of 9). Prince Hamlet also has the lengthiest appearance of any character in all of Shakespeare's plays (en.wikpedia.org 6 of 9). In the play, Prince Hamlet is caught between balancing his need to avenge his father's death, dealing with the disgust he felt for Gertrude and Claudius' love affair, and maintaining the relationship he has with Ophelia without exposing his plans to kill his uncle Claudius for the murder of King Hamlet.
On the journey through the path of life, there are encounters with many different incidents and situations where we must act accordingly. Depending on what type of personality is possessed, there are numerous ways that we can deal with these encounters. In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the main character is confronted with a cluster of dilemmas and is in emotional distress. The ghost that encounters Hamlet, the monarchs’ incest, and the contemplation of murder, are the major conflicts which he must deal with one way or another. As a result of these three issues, as well as Hamlet’s particular character, he handles these issues internally which causes internal struggle and a passive response.
When his father was killed no one knew who really killed him, everyone thought that his just died of natural causes. By soon Hamlets father’s ghost started to appear, some of the night watch men saw him and they thought that it would be a good idea to let Hamlet know about it. So later that night Hamlet and the night watch men went out on patrol and that’s when Hamlets dad’s ghost appeared to him. Hamlet followed him into the woods and that’s where he spoke to it. The ghost told him the whole story about how his brother poured poison into his ear and killed him to take over the throne. The ghost asked him to avenge his death. And that’s when Hamlet started to go crazy.
Hamlet also encounters loneliness and despair from Ophelia. As part of Hamlet’s "plan" to put on an antic disposition he distances himself from Ophelia who he is actually in love with. He does this by insulting her and convincing her that he is mad and never had any true feelings for her. "I loved you not" (III; i; 117) "Get thee to a nunnery......Marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them" (III; i; 135-137) Hamlet also kills Polonius (by mistake thinking it was Claudius). Both of these incidents cause Ophelia a great deal of grief and so she kills herself. Hamlet is of course devastated because he never actually meant to hurt her. "I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum.
Hamlet’s revenge plot causes a lot of chaos as the other characters struggle to learn what is causing Hamlet’s insanity, in their struggle they are hurt both emotionally and physically. To begin, Hamlet causes Ophelia so much pain that
Our first impression of Hamlet sets the tone for the whole play. Even without Shakespeare providing an elaborate description of Hamlet's features, we can envision his pale face, tousled hair, and intense, brooding eyes. Dressed totally in black, Hamlet displays all the 'forms, moods and shapes of grief'. His mother cannot help but notice Hamlet's outward appearance of mourning, but Hamlet makes it clear that the overt signs o...
Hamlet tarnishes his image and sacrifices his dignity as a result of his ploy to fool those around him and avenge his father’s murder. Initially, the character of Hamlet is portrayed as “a soldier” and “a scholar” with “a noble mind”. This description by Ophelia is one that the citizens of Elsinore including friends and family of Hamlet would have open-heartedly agreed to. After all, as Claudius said to Hamlet: “You are the most immediate to our throne...” Hamlet must act in a presentable state at all times so can be in favor with the people in the event that he were to become king. However, after the revelation by the Ghost that “The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown,” Hamlet is shocked but at the same time confused. He is forced into a conflict between acting and not acting ...
Throughout the play Hamlet is in constant conflict with himself. An appearance of a ghost claiming to be his father, “I am thy father’s spirit”(I.v.14) aggravates his grief, nearly causing him to commit suicide and leaving him deeply disgusted and angered. Upon speaking with his ghost-father, Hamlet learns that his uncle-stepfather killed Hamlet the King. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown”(I.v.45-46) Hamlet is beside himself and becomes obsessed with plotting and planning revenge for the death of his father.
In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet is a subtle character who has a major effect on Hamlet during the play. Although he appears very little, the ghost causes Hamlet to think incorrectly and not act his normal self. Hamlet is accused madness and hallucination in one scene, and it can be traced back to the ghost causing it. The ghost’s presence is not always clear and only speaks to Hamlet, so it makes other characters think Hamlet is going crazy. The ghost only appears twice to speak to Hamlet, but each visit significantly affects Hamlet.
Hamlet is a man with an identity crisis because of the conflicting emotions he is feeling and expectations being thrust upon him. His eventual plunge into a state of insanity was a direct consequence of stress. The stress between worlds destroyed his moral base, the actions of his mother and his consequential treatment of Ophelia left him with no 'north point' to follow and his constant changing of moods either caused his crisis or were as a result of losing his way. Hamlet to this day remains a complex character in the centre of perhaps the finest play in the history of the English language.
The image of death is brought back up many different times through the play. One of the first major events is when Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his own father. This embodiment of death starts the flow of the whole story when he exposed the means and manner of his death by his own brother, Claudius’s hand. He entreats Hamlet to exact rev...
He was forced to deal with numerous obstacles. He came to converse with paranormal being, that demanded he take action against the supposed killer of his kin. He sacrificed the love he felt for Ophelia and drove her into an early grave. Two friends he grew up with fall victim to his revenge. Hamlet sacrificed his own life in the name of honor. Hamlet is relatable to a normal person because of how he handled his entire quest for revenge. He took the whole situation in stride just like one would expect from the protagonist in any story. He is a perfect example of what becomes of a man when he is asked to ignore his own beliefs and morals. He rose to the occasion and against all odds he honored his father’s wishes. Hamlet fulfilled his role as the avenger in the story, even though he may not have wanted
Villa obsesses about what he sees as his weakness in light of the fact that he can't prevent himself from considering. Words immobilize Hamlet, however the world he lives in prizes activity.